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Hartford County resident Deshawn Baugh of Hartford was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, the US Attorney for Connecticut said. He must pay $124,842.45 in restitution, the prosecutor said.
Baugh, along with three others, went on a robbery spree through Connecticut and western Massachusetts beginning in 2021, federal investigators said. The men would enter the AT&T stores just before closing, pull guns and a rifle on the employees, and rob the place. Sometimes, they would drag or shove the workers and sometimes pistol-whip them to make them comply, officials added.
Local authorities and the FBI said the men robbed Hartford County stores in Newington, Enfield, and Canton and attempted to rob stores in Glastonbury and Litchfield County (Torrington) in early 2021. The group stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of electronics and cash in the heists, authorities said.
Their spree ended on June 6, 2021, when they robbed the West Springfield AT&T store in Hampden County, Massachusetts. After the heist, troopers were quick to the scene, and Saviana Bourne, the getaway driver, led Massachusetts State Police on a high-speed chase before crashing into a patrol car, authorities said.
Police arrested Baugh and Bourne along with Alex Josephs, Ronaldo Smith, and Shaquille Raymond, all of Hartford, the prosecutor said. Officers found $150,000 worth of stolen merchandise from AT&T stores and the guns used in the robbery.
Josephs, Smith, Raymond, and Bourne have pleaded guilty in the case but have not been sentenced.
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